Never That Old
by SophieDevereauxtoo
Summary: Beverly returns home after her vacation. She can't wait to tell her best friend about meeting Seven of Nine


Ensign Rizki expertly lands his craft in the shuttle bay of the Enterprise. Dr. Crusher thanks him for his skill and company as she disembarks. He had heard all sorts of stories about the red haired doctor but she seemed perfectly pleasant to him. 'It's too bad,' he thinks as he watches her walk away. 'She spent her whole vacation reading while there was so much fun to be had in Nuevo Quepos.' He shrugs. "I hope I never get that old!" he says under his breath."

Beverly drops her bags in her quarters and hurries down to Ten Forward in search of Deanna Troi. Half the fun of a vacation fling is sharing it and she can't wait to tell her best friend all about it.

Deanna is sitting with Will Riker, their heads together laughing. Deanna senses her presence and her eyes meet Beverly's. Suddenly she knows. She says something to Will who stands with a mischievous grin. "Beverly," he says as he passes her in the entrance to the room. She's sure she can hear the tease in his voice and she strides to Deanna's table, ready to scold her for telling secrets.

Deanna doesn't give her a chance. She leans forward, elbows on the table, chin in her hands as Beverly takes a seat across from her.

"You met someone!"  
"That obvious?"  
"One doesn't need to be a telepath to see you had a wonderful time. I, however, am an empath and I know that you had sex!"  
They both laugh. Deanna doesn't usually indulge in her brash Betazoid manners but, around Beverly, she rarely holds back.  
"Guilty!" Beverly tells her.  
"It was good too."  
"Very."  
"More than once?"  
"I lost count."  
"Oh my! I want details. All of them. Don't leave a single thing out."

Beverly laughs again.  
"Deanna! A lady never kisses and tells!"  
"Bullshit! You're dying to tell me all about him."  
"Her."

Deanna sits up in surprise.  
"Beverly! I am impressed! I didn't know you had it in you. This must be quite a woman."  
"Oh she is!" Beverly gushes. "She's absolutely amazing. Tall, beautiful, brilliant, funny, sexy as hell!"  
"Mmm hmmm..."  
"And insatiable!"  
"Now we're talking! So what's her name?"  
"Seven."

"That's an unusual name."  
"It is. But it fits her perfectly."  
"So, who is she then. Where is she from?"  
"She's an advisor to StarFleet. She serves on a Federation ship."

Deanna starts to put the pieces of information together.  
"Beverly..."  
"Yes?"  
"Are we talking about Seven of Nine? The Borg?"  
Beverly grins. "We are."

Deanna sits back in her chair, confused.  
"You had sex with a Borg?"  
"Former. She's human. And yes. More than once."  
"You said that."  
"I did. Did I also say it was the most amazing sex I've had in my life?"  
"I don't understand."  
"Which part?" Beverly asks with a grin. "Has it been that long?"  
Deanna throws the wadded up napkin she's been fiddling with at Beverly's head.  
"I just don't understand how you can have sex with a Borg?"  
"She's human Deanna. Very much human. And she's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful."

"Ok," Deanna says. "I'm listening. Tell me the story."  
Beverly starts from the moment Seven first approached her and tells Deanna everything, well almost everything. Somethings should be kept private, even from your telepathic best friend.

By the time she gets to the end of the story, Deanna can feel how much Beverly misses her new friend already. It concerns her.

"So, what are you thinking?" Beverly asks, knowing that Deanna is probably not very enthusiastic about this new development in her friend's life.  
"Do you want me to answer as a counsellor or a friend?"  
"Are they different?"  
"No. Not much."  
"Ok. Just say it then. You think that she's emotionally immature. You think that this is a one sided relationship and I see in her what I want to see, not who she really is. You think that it's creepy that she wanted me to teach her how to have sex and there was dubious consent involved. You think that I'm falling hard for someone who is incapable of reciprocating that emotion and I'm going to get horribly hurt and you're going to have to pick up the pieces. Again."  
"Just so we understand each other."

Beverly shakes her head. "I don't know Deanna. I've thought about all of the things that you're thinking."  
"Obviously."  
"You're right. Every part of it. But I still can't stop thinking about her. I really really like her. She says she likes too. She seems to. I know the risks but I want to see her again. I need to see her again. It's not just about the sex. I feel like we made a real connection. I can't explain it. Just deep in my soul I know there is something there."

Deanna reaches across the table and takes Beverly's hand.  
"I love you Beverly. You know that. It's my job to think of these thing. To make sure you think of them too. But I can't make you feel something that you don't. You like her. She makes you happy. I can see that. It's your life to do with as you choose. I will support you in any way I can, no matter what you decide to do. And you know that, despite all of my counsellor talk, I'm a romantic at heart. I believe in love and connections. I believe that when you meet your Imzadi, you know it instantly. When you're meant to be with someone, there is no force in the universe that can stop it. I think that, if you truly believe that there is a chance that she can make you happy, then you need to pursue it."

Beverly squeezes Deanna's hand. "Thank you. I love you too."  
"Now," Deanna says as she waves her hand for a server, "I want to know all about what makes sex with a Borg so special."  
Beverly laughs loudly. "Human. And you wish!"


End file.
